To do: Prepare a résumé for application submissions

A tip from Lisa:

Most résumés are rejected because they do not answer one basic question:

How does this applicant meet or exceed our organization’s needs?

Develop an informative résumé that quickly tells the internal department or new employer how you fit their needs and how you can add value to their company. Simply citing the amount of experience you have without a target position and leaving it up to the hiring manager to see how you fit the organization will quickly land you in the “Don’t Call” pile.

Your basic résumé is just a starting point, a template for the résumé you will actually submit for a job posting. Each time you submit your résumé, you must make sure that it speaks directly to the job being posted and the company that is hiring.

Luckily, customizing your basic résumé doesn't require much editing. The summary section of your résumé is the focus of your "submission" résumé. This top section is the résumé's "first impression," because it is the first section hiring managers see when they open your file on the screen. This section sets the stage for how the recruiter will digest your work experience and educational credentials. The summary section provides a context in which to place your professional expertise and education.

When customizing your résumé for most job submissions, it is not usually necessary to change your work experience or education sections. After all, what you have accomplished is what you have accomplished. An alternative to the previous sentence: Changing the summary section of the résumé allows you to present your experience in a context that permits the hiring manager to see how well you fit the open position.

Prepare a tailored résumé

For this activity, start by locating a job listing you would be interested in applying for on a site such as Indeed.com and LinkUp.com. You will tailor your basic résumé for this specific position. Later in the course, we will look at how to research the company in preparation for your interview, but your task at the moment is to make sure that your résumé makes it past the culling process and into the hands of the hiring manager.

Once you have identified a job listing that interests you and is suitable for your skill set, follow the steps below to customize the résumé to submit to your chosen position:

Heading title:

Ensure that the heading title on the résumé reflects the job you are applying for and is similar to (if not the same as) your most recent title. There are some exceptions to this rule:

If the target position is potentially the next step in your career, craft your title heading (not the title under your employment section, to be clear—those titles must always exactly match your title at your job) to read something like, "Aspiring human resources vice president" if you are currently the human resources director.
If you are transitioning between two different careers, such as going from a human resources role to a marketing role, you can utilize a title such as this: "Target position: marketing manager." This makes it very clear to the reader what position you are seeking, and you will not be leaving it up to the reader to decide.

Summary paragraph:

Using the job description, write two or three broad sentences about how you have performed, or why you have the skill set needed to perform the main one or two points outlined in this job description. Whenever possible, demonstrate how you have achieved results. Engage readers—make them want to keep reading for information about how you achieved the accomplishments you list.

If you are seeking a promotion or a career transition, outline how your skills and previous experiences have prepared you for the new position. Help the reader see the connection between what you have done and what the prospective employer needs you to do.
Utilize keyword phrases from the job description in writing your summary paragraph. This will help with the keyword optimization of the document.

Core competency bullets:

Create two or three columns (I prefer two) of no more than three to five bullets per column to list keyword phrases that represent target skills and job competencies for the position you are applying for. Pull phrases and keywords from your résumé and the job description. The placement of these terms in this section helps with the keyword optimization of the document and visually reinforces to the reader that you have the skills and expertise needed for the role.

Write a great cover letter

It is imperative that the résumé communicate its message to the reader independently, because there are recruiters who never read cover letters. However, for the recruiting population that reads cover letters (which is still a significant group), the cover letter needs to be concise and direct in its message to the reader to be effective. Ensure that your cover letter is short—no more than a computer screen shot or a couple of scrolls on a smartphone. That’s it! Hiring managers and associates do not read much more than that length. If it is longer, you risk having your letter skipped over.

Writing a great cover letter specifically for each application is imperative in today’s career marketplace. Using a one-size-fits-all, general cover letter for all your applications and communications is not a good way to uniquely present yourself in a job search. The following six cover letter tips will help you write a concise, influential cover letter that will improve your chances of getting noticed and receiving that call for the coveted interview.

For this activity, you will write a cover letter to accompany the submission résumé you created above. Begin by downloading the cover letter template. Using the job description, edit the template:

Address your cover letter to a person. An actual person! Do not open it with “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Hiring Manager.” Do the homework and find out who you should be addressing your cover letter to.
Specify how you found the person to email. Most people have an instinctive response, such as, “How did they get my name?” when receiving an unsolicited yet personalized inquiry. Indicate early in the cover letter email how you discovered the name, to put the receiving party at immediate ease to continue reading. Whether it was research on LinkedIn or your former co-worker who led you to reach out to this person, informing the recipient of how your email landed in that inbox makes the person feel better.
Be explicit about what job you are looking for. Do so whether it is an exploratory request or you are submitting to a job posting. Do not leave it up to the hiring manager to decide which job you are applying to or where you may fit within their organization. If you do, your cover letter may get filed in the “T” file—the trash.
The cover letter is not a prose version of your résumé. It is not meant to repeat your résumé. A cover letter is supposed to summarize the value you will bring to the organization and how your background fills their need. Nothing puts your credentials in the "no" pile faster than a lengthy synopsis of your career history with no explanation of how your credentials benefit the hiring organization.
Help the reader understand why he or she should take action. Why should you be called for an interview or forwarded to the right person to bring you in for a discussion? Use bullets, no more than three to five, to outline how you are a match for the prospective position.

Lastly, of course, end your letter with the professional niceties. Thanking the person for his or her time and assertively offer to follow up to arrange an interview time. Polite enthusiasm and humble persistence are never out of style and always stand out in a positive light.

Tips for automated résumé submissions

Because companies must process a large number of job applications, many hiring entities use automated submission forms online. You may be asked to submit both a text file (also called an "ASCII résumé") as an attachment and to copy and paste your résumé into an unformatted text box in a Web form. A processing algorithm then matches your submission to the job listing and decides whether to show your résumé to the hiring manager.

A text résumé (ASCII) is simply plain text—it is not an aesthetically pretty document. This type of résumé document has all font treatment, symbols, borders, tabs, and other features removed. To create a plain text résumé (ASCII), follow these steps:

Open your MS Word or cloud-based document.
Select Save As to save the document in a different file format.
You can keep the name of the document the same as your original document, but select Plain Text as the file type under the Save As Type option on the Save As screen.
You have now created a text (ASCII) document.
Open your newly created plain text résumé and polish up the document, ensuring basic alignment and readability.